OK, that's a bit of a bold statement, but if I were to list some of my top singles from the "punk" era - I'm saying that's 1976-1980 - these would be on the top. Punk brought the definition of a "one-hit wonder" to the table every week, mainly because so many of these bands did something unique for a single, or an EP, or, rarely, an entire album, before burning out creatively, or just breaking up - so that means there are a lot of great singles. Record labels scrambling to get some of this new sound combined with the first "indie" labels to make an impact sped this all up - or, at the least, added to the field.
To streamline this a bit - no, make that a lot - I've excluded post-punk, art punk, electronic punk, new wave, and all other child genres of punk from this list. I'm just focusing on the loud and fast ones. However, since American punk, with the exception of the Ramones, Dead Boys, and, to an extent, Richard Hell and a few others, didn't really get into the loud and fast act until hardcore emerged in the 80s. So, this list is largely British, with a few Americans and Australians thrown in. Also, I should note that none of these "rankings" are set in stone, it's all very approximate, and I'll probably want to change the order of one ten minutes after I decide on an order. And, if anyone so requests, I might try my hand at a post-punk list of this very nature. I've provided YouTube links for all the A sides, except for #5, for which I could only find "Armalite Rifle," for some reason.
- (I'm) Stranded / No Time - The Saints
- Teenage Kicks / True Confession - The Undertones
- I Wanna Be Sedated / The Return of Jackie and Judy- The Ramones
- (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais / The Prisoner - The Clash
- Damaged Goods / Love Like Anthrax / Armalite Rifle - Gang Of Four (Very close to the post-punk line, but none of these songs aren't loud and fast.)
- Blank Generation / Love Comes in Spurts - Richard Hell and the Voidoids ("Spurts" gets my vote for the best B side on here)
- Aloha Steve and Danno / Anglo Girl Desire - Radio Birdman
- Neat Neat Neat / Stab Your Back / Singalonga Scabies - The Damned ("Stab You Back" is 59 second long, and probably the... third best B side on here!)
- Babylon's Burning / Society - The Ruts
- Suspect Device / Wasted Life - Stiff Little Fingers
So, what do
you think? What are some of your favorite punk songs? (And should I do a post-punk version of this?)
OK, that's a bit of a bold statement, but if I were to list some of my top singles from the "punk" era - I'm saying that's 1976-1980 - these would be on the top. Punk brought the definition of a "one-hit wonder" to the table every week, mainly because so many of these bands did something unique for a single, or an EP, or, rarely, an entire album, before burning out creatively, or just breaking up - so that means there are a lot of great singles. Record labels scrambling to get some of this new sound combined with the first "indie" labels to make an impact sped this all up - or, at the least, added to the field.
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